Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, then Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1785-1831)

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Lived 1785–1831, aged 46

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Wikipedia
23 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1785–1831
Aged 46
Awards
5
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-08-30

He founded the House of Glücksburg — the dynasty that still populates half the thrones of Europe. A minor German-Danish duke who married well and outlived the right cousins, Friedrich Wilhelm turned a castle gift from his brother-in-law the king into a surname his son would carry to the Danish crown.

Biography

About

Friedrich Wilhelm was the only son of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, born into a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg. From 1804 he lived in Denmark-Norway and served as an officer in the Danish army through the Napoleonic Wars. His 1810 marriage to Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel made him brother-in-law to King Frederick VI, whose wife was Louise Caroline's elder sister. When his father died in 1816 he inherited the Beck dukedom, then in 1825 the king transferred Glücksburg Castle to him and changed his title accordingly after the elder Glücksburg line went extinc…

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